5 managers with the highest transfer spending in the last decade

Mourinho and Guardiola have spent a lot on transfers in the last decade
Mourinho and Guardiola have spent a lot on transfers in the last decade

There are plenty of managers who have spent a lot of money on transfers in the last decade. While some of these transfers work out pretty well, others become big money flops and the managers are often criticized for spending so much money on them.

Some managers have spent heavily on transfers

The likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have spent a lot but have also achieved success at different clubs in the last 10 years and definitely feature on this list.

Almost all the other managers in this list have also been in charge of more than a single club while all of them have managed to win multiple trophies during their tenure at these different clubs. So who apart from Guardiola and Mourinho will feature on this list? Let's have a look.


#5 Antonio Conte

Conte has not always been successful with his big signings
Conte has not always been successful with his big signings

Antonio Conte is widely regarded as one of the best tacticians in world football. He is the only manager to win three league titles with three clubs in Europe's top five leagues.

Conte is a serial winner who inherited a Chelsea team that had finished 10th, 31 points behind first, and made them Premier League champions in his debut year. He also helped Juventus win their first Scudetto in nine years (officially) and recently helped Inter win their first league title in 11 seasons, before resigning from the role.

But that success has come at a cost as Conte is fifth on the list of highest transfer spending managers in the last decade. The Italian has spent £842.12 million on transfers at three different clubs, purchasing 73 players while winning eight titles in the process

Unfortunately, when Conte spends big, it usually doesn't turn out well. Michy Batshuayi, Danny Drinkwater, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata all feature in his top 10 costliest signings.

He did however sign N'Golo Kante at Chelsea and Romelu Lukaku at Inter, both of whom turned out to be integral parts of his title-winning season at their respective clubs.


#4 Massimiliano Allegri

Allegri has given a good account of his spending in the last decade
Allegri has given a good account of his spending in the last decade

Massimiliano Allegri started his managerial career from scratch, guiding Sassuolo to promotion in Serie B before moving to Cagliari and helping them achieve their best ever finish in the league in 15 years.

He moved to AC Milan in 2010, where he managed to win the Italian Super Cup in 2012 before moving on to manage Juventus in 2014. Allegri became a serial winner in Turin, claiming five successive Serie A titles and also helping the club reach two UEFA Champions League finals during his tenure.

Under the Italian manager, Juventus were famous for picking up canny free transfers, but as evidence suggests he also spent an astonishing amount of cash.

Allegri signed 76 players at AC Milan and Juventus in the last decade, spending a whopping £875.36 million on these transfers while winning 12 trophies at these clubs. The manager's biggest signing was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, when the Portuguese left Real Madrid for Turin in a deal worth £105 million.

Allegri left Juventus in 2019 and was on a two-year sabbatical before returning to the Bianconeri this summer.

#3 Diego Simeone

Simeone has spent a lot of money on transfers since joining Atletico Madrid
Simeone has spent a lot of money on transfers since joining Atletico Madrid

Diego Simeone is another manager who has spent a lot of money on transfers in the last decade.

Simeone has established himself as one of the best managers in Europe during his time at Atletico Madrid. He helped Atletico break the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga in 2014, helping them achieve their first league title since 1996.

Simeone's team is known for playing tough defensive football showcasing sheer hard work and determination. The 51-year-old has built his Atletico team from scratch due to which he has spent a lot on transfers and hence finds himself a spot on our list.

In the last decade or so, the Argentine manager has £879.94 million on transfers, signing 58 players and has managed to win eight titles during this time. He has signed players like Diego Costa, Alvaro Morata and Thomas Lemar, all of whom have cost a hefty sum.

But no signing was bigger than Joao Felix, for whom he spent a ludicrous sum of £113 million to bring the youngster to Wanda Metropolitano in 2019.

Simeone won his second La Liga title with Atletico Madrid last season, where they narrowly pipped their cross-town rivals to the trophy on the last day of the season.


#2 Jose Mourinho

Mourinho has spent more thant £900 million on transfers in the last decade
Mourinho has spent more thant £900 million on transfers in the last decade

Jose Mourinho is often described as one of the best managers in football history. The self-proclaimed 'Special One' has won titles in each and every country he has managed in, although his stock has somewhat fallen after underwhelming spells at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Still Mourinho has tasted a lot of success in the past decade but that success has definitely come at a cost. The Portuguese manager has spent a whopping £959 million on transfers, signing 56 players during his time at Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, winning seven titles in the process.

However, his spending has not always lead to success. Five of his top six purchases were at Manchester United but ultimately failed to make it work for him. The likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Fred, Nemanja Matic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were all expensive purchases for United during the manager's tenure.

Mourinho was sacked in April by Tottenham Hotspur and is currently the man in charge at AS Roma in Serie A.


#1 Pep Guardiola

Guardiola has crossed the £1 billion mark for money spent on transfers
Guardiola has crossed the £1 billion mark for money spent on transfers

Widely regarded as the best manager in European football, Pep Guardiola has dominated the footballing world with his possession and attacking based football.

The Spanish manager has won numerous accolades at all three clubs he has managed in the last decade. His Barcelona team in the 2010's were one of the best sides football has ever seen. He won 14 trophies during his time at Camp Nou before moving to Bayern Munich in 2013.

At Bayern, the manager won seven trophies in just three seasons before leaving for Manchester City in 2016. Since joining City, Guardiola has won the Premier League three times in five seasons and even finished with 100 points in one season during the 2017/18 campaign.

But amidst all this success, Guardiola has spent a lot of money on transfers and has even seen his expenditure cross the £1 billion mark in the last decade.

The former Barcelona manager has spent around £1.07 billion on transfers, signing 51 players while his expenditure at Manchester City alone is around £850 million in the last five years. However, Guardiola has been able to give a good account of his spending as the manager has won a whopping 21 trophies in the last decade.

It looks like though that the manager's transfer spending at Manchester City is not going to stop here as they are being linked with £100 million moves for Jack Grealish and Harry Kane this summer.

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Edited by Nived Zenith
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